The National Clinical Programmes Annual Report 2025, published today by RCSI, outlines the significant progress made by the programmes over the past year in improving patient care, strengthening clinical governance and supporting more consistent service delivery across Ireland’s health system.

The report details the work of the National Clinical Programmes across surgery, emergency medicine, trauma and orthopaedic surgery, interventional radiology and cardiothoracic surgery, delivered in partnership between RCSI, the HSE, health regions, hospitals and frontline clinical teams.

Key developments during the year included the publication and rollout of major national models of care, including updated frameworks for emergency medicine and interventional radiology, alongside continued expansion of modernised care pathways across multiple surgical specialties. These initiatives are designed to support earlier access to care, reduce unwarranted variation and improve alignment between community and hospital services.

The contribution made by the programmes to support the expansion of the elective surgery capacity by coordinating cross specialty programmes to agree national guidance for the new facilities is also outlined in the report.

The report also highlights the growing role of digital health in supporting clinical care and service planning. National dashboards, digital early warning systems and integrated patient flow platforms are now in use across a number of services, enabling real-time access to information to support clinical decision-making and operational oversight.

Patient safety and quality improvement remained central to programme activity in 2025. Work continued to strengthen national audit and governance structures, expand clinical databases and support education and training initiatives aligned with national standards and best practice.

Alongside service delivery improvements, the Programmes contributed to workforce planning and sustainability initiatives, including assessment of future workforce needs, expansion of advanced practice roles and continued development of education pathways to support evolving models of care. Environmental sustainability also remained a focus, with continued rollout of the Green Emergency Medicine programme across emergency departments and injury units.

Professor Deborah McNamara, RCSI President, welcomed the publication of the annual report: “The RCSI National Clinical Programmes support clinicians and services to implement evidence-based care in a consistent and practical way across the health system. The progress outlined in this report reflects strong clinical leadership and collaboration, demonstrating how nationally agreed models of care can deliver meaningful, high-quality improvements for patients and services.”

The Annual Report also outlines priorities for 2026, including scaling the implementation of national models of care, further development of digital infrastructure, continued support for workforce planning and expanded use of data to support quality improvement and service performance.

The RCSI National Clinical Programmes Annual Report 2025 is available here.